This invention relates to systems and methods for monitoring the status of mining vehicles, and particularly to an intra-vehicle radio data communication system.
In mining operations it is useful to monitor continuously the location and status of mining vehicles, such as extraordinarily large load-hauling dump trucks, commonly known as xe2x80x9chaul trucks.xe2x80x9d Such vehicles are typically operated twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, except as needed to change drivers, refuel and perform maintenance. Under such operating conditions, it is desirable to monitor the position and status of the vehicle continuously so as to achieve maximum efficiency and determine when maintenance is required.
Mining vehicle monitoring systems typically comprise a central monitoring and control location having a base radio transceiver for data communication with many mining vehicles, and respective transceivers mounted on the vehicles for transmitting to the base station data representative of the status and location of the vehicles, and for receiving control signals from the base station. A system of this type is shown, for example, in Gudat et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,844 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REAL-TIME MONITORING AND COORDINATION OF MULTIPLE GEOGRAPHY ALTERING MACHINES ON A WORK SITE, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Mining vehicles operate in a harsh environment, and rock, dirt and ore being processed using such vehicles tends to strike many parts of the exterior of the vehicle frequently. While it is desirable to monitor the status of many components on the vehicle, such as tire pressure, tire temperature, fuel, lubrication level, shaft speeds and the like, wires for providing power to and receiving data from sensors and other status indicators distributed throughout the vehicle need to be heavily protected to prevent damage. Such protection adds undesirable weight and complexity to the design of the vehicle.
Therefore, there is a need for a practical system and method for determining the status of various components of a mining vehicle in mining vehicle monitoring systems.
The present invention satisfies the aforementioned need by providing the combination of a status sensor, status radio transmitter and power source located adjacent to a portion or component of the vehicle to be monitored, and a status radio receiver located adjacent to a vehicle-to-base transmitter that receives a status radio signal from the status radio transmitter and forwards that signal to a base station at a central monitoring location. Preferably, a plurality of such sensors, status radio transmitters and respective power sources are distributed throughout the vehicle. The status radio transmitters are low power devices. Preferably the vehicle-to-base radio operates at different frequencies from the intra-vehicle status radios so as to avoid mutual interference. In particular embodiments, the power sources obtain their power from the motion of the vehicle itself.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for intra-vehicle communication in a mining vehicle monitoring system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an intra-vehicle radio communication system for monitoring the status of various vehicle components.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide status radio transmitters in an intra-vehicle communication system wherein the transmitters are powered by the motion of the vehicle.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.